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7-month-old twin boys suffer critical head injuries in Flint; third child removed from home

Richfield Court.JPG

Officers were notified shortly after 9 p.m. by Hurley Medical Center two children with critical injuries that appeared to be suspicious in nature had been brought to the hospital from a home in the 3900 block of Averill Avenue.
(David Harris | mlive.com)

FLINT, MI – Seven-month-old twin boys first listed in critical condition suffered fractured skulls that were caused by
either "falling from a high area or being hit," according to a termination of
parental rights hearing on Monday afternoon.

Flint police have opened a criminal
investigation, but have made no arrests, said Michigan State
Police Detective Sgt. Tiffany Robbins, who declined to elaborate further.
Genesee County Prosecutor David Leyton said the case was under investigation.

"I don't know who hurt the children,"
said Karen Bunker, an attorney for the Child Advocacy Team, a nonprofit that
represents abused or neglected children, at the hearing. "Someone knows what
happened."

Bunker called it an "extreme case of
child abuse." The boys have been upgraded to serious but stable condition, according to Hurley Medical Center.

Officers were notified shortly after
9 p.m. April 12 by Hurley Medical Center that two children with critical injuries that
appeared to be suspicious in nature had been brought to the hospital from a
home at Richfield Court Apartments, which is in the 1900 block of Averill Avenue.

A third child, who was not injured,
was taken from the custody of her parents on Monday. Her mother also is the
mother of the injured twins. The father of the girl is not the father of the
twins, according to the court. Both had their parental rights terminated on
Monday.

According to the termination of
parental rights complaint read by Referee Mary A. Hood on Monday, a grandmother
noticed some swelling on the right side of the head of one of the boys around
noon Saturday. The infants were taken to the hospital, where it was determined
they had skull fractures.

One of the boys also suffered a
broken arm, while the second had bruises on his buttocks, the complaint said.
One also may have to undergo surgery for some bleeding on the brain, according
to the complaint.

The boys' mother told a Department
of Human Services investigator that the infants may have hit their heads on the
crib or bumped each other's heads. But a doctor at Hurley Medical Center,
according to the complaint, said the injuries are not consistent with those
explanations.

"These are very serious injuries that have not
been explained," said Hood.

Jill Creech Bauer, who represented
the mother at the hearing, said the mother is concerned for her kids'
well-being.

"She certainly knows that she didn't
hurt her children," Creech Bauer said. "She was certainly concerned after she
learned what happened."

Creech Bauer declined further
comment.

The names of the mother, who turns 20
on Tuesday, April 15, and father, 22, are being withheld because they have not
been criminally charged.

This is the second high-profile child
abuse allegation in as many weeks. Last week, three people were charged with third-degree
child abuse after posting a video on Facebook where an 11-year-old boy was
struck dozens of times with a belt.